TRUTH HURTS. WHAT’S WORSE?

On February 1, 2011, I felt what all coaches have felt at one time or another, like I was getting done in by the referees. No one wants to admit feeling this way but it is what it is. And it’s noble to say, “Referees don’t lose games.” I agree with such nobility. I won’t preach that and I didn’t play basketball with referees in my crosshairs. But for all the noblemen at sporting events worldwide, there are very few humanitarians championing the plight of misunderstood official. I say that to say this, “Referees don’t lose games but they must be accountable as any of us.”

So after a 1-point loss the other night, I incited about 40 families to email the liaison for our local section of the California Interscholastic Federation, the organization which governs high school athletics here. And the action seemed petty even as I was emailing the parents giving them the information they needed to point their grievances. Nevertheless, I proceeded and I did it because I believe in simple things like getting in shape if you plan on being an official at a basketball game. It sounds mean doesn’t it. Submission to truth is the issue though. Here’s a list of taboo subjects that make accountability a must: Biases of all sorts, laziness and Gender/Age discrimination to name a few. When you’re a head coach, the whole school watches your mannerisms, your decision making in the clutch, your responses to threat, etc. But on the real, I’m happy to say that pleasing spectators isn’t so much a priority for me. I was pleased to find that less than 24 hours after I requested parents email the liaison, a response was rendered.

The liaison seemed a bit unhappy about the breach of protocol as parents are supposed to work through their athletic directors. But I figured hey, since the website listed your contact information, that makes you a publicly accessible figure. And at day’s end I didn’t really expect an about-face when it comes to referees who work Divison 5AA basketball games. I just wanted them to know that how they execute their task matters just like how I execute mine. No one is exempt from accountability. No one can change the 86,400 seconds they have in one day. No one is above justice no matter how much the hierarchy deems an injustice moot. I don’t expect referees to win games for me. I’m not sure how much winning basketball games even matters to me as a coach. But where there is disrespect, condescension, avoidance, neglect, ineptitude, there should be an intervention. When I’m guilty of the items on this list, and I am often, I’d like to invite you to check me straight away.